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"While most small businesses surveyed have enough capital to run their business, they continue to need counsel on how to put their money to work effectively"

Bank of America today released its fall 2012 Small
Business Owner Report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns,
aspirations and perspectives of small business owners across the
country. The survey found the majority of small business owners are
planning on sustaining or growing their business over the next 12
months, as 31 percent plan on hiring more employees, while 56 percent
anticipate their staffing needs will remain consistent.

More than half of the small business owners surveyed anticipate that
revenue will increase in 2013, while only seven percent expect revenue
to decline. However, this optimism is tempered by their views on the
economy. Small business owners are wary about the health of the overall
economy. Only one-third (34 percent) are confident that the national
economy will improve over the next 12 months, and 38 percent believe
their local economy will improve in the same time period.

“Small businesses are critical to the growth of economy,” said Dean
Athanasia, Preferred and Small Business executive at Bank of America.
“Heading into 2013, small business owners have a high level of
confidence in their ability to build and sustain a successful business.
We must continue to fuel this confidence by providing the specialized
services and support small business owners need to stay focused on
thriving in an uncertain economic environment.”

Other insights small business owners shared in the survey include:

Small business owners continue to be excited about owning their own
business. When asked if they have had second thoughts about their
decision to become a small business owner, two-thirds (66 percent) say
they have never regretted the decision to go into business.

Small business owners see little to no benefit from Black Friday and
Cyber Monday. Ninety-one percent of small business owners say that
Black Friday has either a minor or no impact on their business’s
bottom line, and 81 percent believe Cyber Monday is overhyped and has
no significance to their bottom line.

Less than one in five (17 percent) respondents view larger businesses
solely as their biggest competitors. Seventy-nine percent indicate
they have larger businesses as customers, and 31 percent say that
larger businesses motivate them to become better small business owners.

70 percent of small business owners believe they have enough access to
capital to run their business effectively, and only 16 percent said
that they applied for a business loan over the past year. Despite
their optimistic views for the coming year, 78 percent do not intend
to apply for a business loan in 2013.

Only 29 percent of small business owners describe themselves as “very
savvy” regarding financial matters. When seeking advice, they tap into a
broad network for help, including accountants/bookkeepers (75 percent),
other small businesses (50 percent), financial advisors (48 percent) and
friends/family (40 percent).

“While most small businesses surveyed have enough capital to run their
business, they continue to need counsel on how to put their money to
work effectively,” said Robb Hilson, Small Business executive at Bank of
America. “Small business owners are looking for expertise from their
bank as well as other sources so they can make the right decisions for
their business heading into 2013.”

Bank of America has a long history of serving the small business
community – providing clients with customized product solutions but also
the personal touch of small business experts and specialists. Bank of
America is in the final stages of hiring approximately 1,000 small
business bankers across the country. These bankers will serve as a
dedicated resource for small business owners, helping them assess their
companies’ deposit, credit and cash management needs. In addition, Bank
of America continues to actively lend to small businesses across the
U.S. Through September of this year, Bank of America extended more than
$6.2 billion in new credit to small businesses – an increase of 26
percent over the same period last year. In addition, combined new and
renewal small business lending totaled $14.9 billion.

Braun Research conducted the Bank of America Small Business Owner Report
survey by phone between Sept. 9 and Oct. 7, 2012 on behalf of Bank of
America. Braun contacted a nationally representative sample of 1,003
small business owners in the United States with annual revenue between
$100,000 and $4,999,999 and employing between 2 and 99 employees. In
addition, 300 small business owners were also surveyed in nine target
markets: Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York, Boston,
Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Miami. The margin of error for the
national sample is +/- 3.1 percent for the oversampled markets, with
both reported at a 95 percent confidence level.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions,
serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and
large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset
management and other financial and risk management products and
services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United
States, serving more than 55 million consumer and small business
relationships with approximately 5,500 retail banking offices and
approximately 16,300 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30
million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading
wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and
investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes,
serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around
the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than
3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative,
easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients
through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America
Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial
Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Braun Research survey results conducted on behalf of Bank of America
and interpretations in this release are not intended, nor implied, to be
a substitute for the professional advice received from a qualified
accountant, attorney or financial advisor. Always seek the advice of an
accountant, attorney or financial advisor with any questions you may
have regarding the decisions you undertake as a result of reviewing the
information contained herein. Nothing in this report should be construed
as either advice or legal opinion.